Hydro was 13 years old, Niagara was 11.  She had known him all her life.  What they had was certainly not a love relationship, but a friendship that truly amazed the parents of both kids. 

In an age when most kids preferred to hang out with others of the same sex, Hydro and Niagara's friendship baffled so many.  They talked for hours at a time about nothing-- and everything-- under the sun.  They played together out in the fields, and it was not a rare occurence for them to engage in a loving embrace, usually to say "good morning" or "good night."

Perhaps because they were both the only child of their parents, they
found a "brother/sister that they never had" kind of bond.

Well, it occured one cold overcast  night, while Hydro and Niagara were sitting on the couch watching TV together, that Niagara asked Hydro an interesting question.  "Hydro?"  She looked up at him.

"Yeah?" he looked down at her, smiling.

"What do you think love is?" she asked.

"Love?  I don't know, why do you ask?"

"My teacher asked us what we thought love was today in English class," Niagara said, looking back at the TV.  "A lot of kids said there was no such thing."

Hydro was surprised.  "No such thing?"

"Yeah, but not me."

"Well that's good."

"So what do you think it is?"

Hydro thought about it for a minute.  At his age, the question seemed unanswerable, but he knew it couldn't have been any easier for Niagara.  Maybe when they were older, this would be an easy one to answer.  "Well," he finally said.  "I guess it's when you care about somebody, you know.  When they hurt, you hurt too."  He thought some more.

"Wow, that's kind of like what I said."  Niagara giggled.  Hydro liked the sound of her giggle.  "I said you don't want to see anybody hurt them and you would put yourself in their place."

"Yeah," Hydro said, suddenly at a loss for words. 

Niagara sighed and shut her eyes.  "I'm tired," she whispered.  Hydro gave her a squeeze, and rubbed his left hand back and forth across her head.  It was one of the first times he actually thought about what he was doing as he did it.

As he looked down at the sleepy Niagara, he realized she was one of the most precious parts of his life.  He had spent so much time with this little girl, getting to know her, listening to her stories and problems, and telling her about his.  A strange sensation crept through him as he softly ran his hands through her hair. 

Hydro pictured himself five years in the future, graduating from high school.  But the strange thing was, as excited as he was to get to that point in his life, he still was starting to realize how empty his life would be without Niagara.

Hydro sighed to himself, staring at the little beauty who was starting
to doze off.  How could anything be so precious?  He watched as she drew in and let out her breaths, never before appreciating so much the beauty of life.  Here nestled inside his right arm was a living breathing, beautiful little girl.  For just one fleeting moment in time, her life was the only thing in existence that mattered to him. 

After several minutes, Niagara was totally asleep.  Hydro looked to make sure noone was standing behind the couch, then leaned towards her and kissed her on her temple.  "...I love you," he whispered.

The next morning, Niagara took Hydro aside and let him know that she had heard what he said the night before.  Hydro's throat caved in as a hot flash swept through his chest.  "It's okay Hydro," she said, resting her hand on his shoulder. "I just wanted to say, I love you too."

For the following couple of years, they said it to each other every now and then.  Whether or not they really knew the truer meaning behind it, they said it nevertheless.   Because the simple truth was... well, they did love each other.

Eight and a half years down the road, they were married.

The End